Apogee Aspire

[RocketManDan]

Well now that I was able to balance my time between work and the gym I decided to spend today and make some progress on my Apogee Aspire that I am building. I had some left over 29mm body tubes and I picked up a couple of nose cones from Apogee's site. It's a very basic build, but I know I will be spending most of my time sanding matching air foils in the fins and making some really smooth and uniform fin fillets. I plan on using the epoxy clay only because I am comfortable with and it has at least a one hour work time before you notice it getting hard. I'm also going to skin the fins with copy paper...I built one before and gave to a friend, but we haven't launched it yet.

I plan on using a 4" x 56" Mylar streamer to bring it down. There was an article I read where a heat sink was used to make uniform folds in the streamer...maybe I can pick one up someplace cheap. I believe it was in one of the issues of Sports Rocketry?

One of two things will happen...I'll either lose it or destroy it when it lands. I am going go all the way and get the Apogee F10-8 for the mile high flight and a slow and steady climb...should be spectacular...

If anyone has launched this rocket or built one feel free to jump in and give your feed back...

Beautiful day outside for October...sunny and around 75...gotta love Southern CA! Oh Yeah!!

Anyway back to cutting the fins out...

[Wayco]

I have two Aspires now, one I'm building a booster for. It was blown up with a E-9-6 a few months ago and rebuilt with a 24mm MMT. I renamed it Salvage 1. My other Aspire is a scratch build using the original nosecone from my first Aspire, which is all I got back when I launched it with a F-10-8 a few years ago. Since then, I have always included a baffle made from the coupler and anchored my recovery system to it.
When you launch with the F-10, good luck tracking it! Add some colored chalk, the 4" mylar streamer is a good idea, that's how I found the nosecone.

[RocketManDan]

I have two Aspires now, one I'm building a booster for. It was blown up with a E-9-6 a few months ago and rebuilt with a 24mm MMT. I renamed it Salvage 1. My other Aspire is a scratch build using the original nosecone from my first Aspire, which is all I got back when I launched it with a F-10-8 a few years ago. Since then, I have always included a baffle made from the coupler and anchored my recovery system to it.
When you launch with the F-10, good luck tracking it! Add some colored chalk, the 4" mylar streamer is a good idea, that's how I found the nosecone.

Actually I mounted my shock cord/Kevlar to a tube coupler. Passed on the baffle. Hopefully I'll get it all back. Tracking powder is a great idea. How much did you use in yours? I don't want to weight it down too much...

Not sure I am going to spend much time on a really smooth cool paint job. Probably go with a neon color and flat black fin can and nose cone? I might change my mind when it comes time to lay down the paint...we'll see.

[Wayco]

I never measured it, maybe a couple of tablespoons, it comes in a squirt bottle for filling a chalk line tool. I tried using a 2" square of nomex to protect the mylar streamer, but the streamer still melts on one end. It still opened up and slowed the rocket down, but was hard to roll back up. Now I use dog barf, and that with the chalk helps mark the ejection.
I still have another F-10, but I plan to use it in a Vagabond I built with a 29mm MMT. Little heavier rocket that won't go quite so high. Although the Aspire is an awesome launch on the F-10, it really does disappear at 5000 ft.

[Thermo]

Hey y'all, hope you don't mind my reactivating this older thread...

I've got an Aspire kit and am putting in the time to make it nice. But as I build it I find myself slowing and hesitating... I sense that unlike a larger, heavier rocket, this one really has the means to carry itself "out of the envelope" of safe recovery. It is so slim and light that recovery electronics are probably impractical, yet it's a really high flyer, having a design that's basically a "model" rocket but with mid-power engines.

So I'm steeling up my nerve to build this beautiful thing and fly it away... for ever. Is this a common sentiment?

(Else I might chicken out and keep this to D engines, maybe E's, max. Since I was 10 years old I've always hated losing my rockets.)

[RocketManDan]

I feel the same way. I haven't finished mine. It took a back burner to other projects, but you may want to consider streamer recovery so you get it back and have a few spotters with binoculars. Based on the projected performance you will need them. Apogee sells streamers and they suggest the 4" x 56" Mylar streamer, which I think comes with the kit or what I would do is get this material instead.

http://www.apogeerockets.com/Streamers.asp

It's a little pricey, but I think having a wider streamer will slow it down enough to prevent any damage and also make it easier to spot....

Good luck on your build and post some pictures if you feel so inclined. I might even pick it up and start on it again...so many builds never enough time.

[Wayco]

If you have the Mylar streamer,you need to use dog barf to protect it from the ejection charge. Mylar melts easily, and won't open up when it does.

[Zeus-cat]

A buddy of mine launched his on the F10-8 the first time he put it up. The exhaust trail told us that it corkscrewed on the way up. Five or six seconds after it left the pad was the last anyone saw of it.

It rained hard a few days later so it is probably a pile of mush now.

[Thermo]

A buddy of mine launched his on the F10-8 the first time he put it up.

I've no intention of using my F10-8 on flight #1. Got some engineering details (see above) to work out...using a D12-7.

It's a flight test, not a firework

[Thermo]

If you have the Mylar streamer,you need to use dog barf to protect it from the ejection charge. Mylar melts easily, and won't open up when it does.

Thanks for the tip. Will fireproof toilet paper (aka Estes wadding squares) do the job or must I go get some dog barf?

[Gus]

Thermo,

Estes wadding should do fine. Really looking forward to the flight report. Best of luck!